Loki
:Odin! Dost Thou Remember :when we in early days :Blended our blood together? :When to taste beer :Thou did'st constantly refuse :Unless to both 'twas offered? ::-Sæmund's Edda, Thorpe's translation ' Loki' is the seductively handsome Norse god of fire, as well as trickster. He is the son of two giants, Fárbauti (cruel striker) and Laufey (or Nál which means "needle", implying that she was skinny and weak.). His two brothers (in which were to be beside him in Ragnarok) are Býleistr'' (bee-lighting)'' and Helblindi (All blind or hel-blinder). He is referred to as the blood-brother of Odin. Loki becomes harbinger of Ragnarok and the father of the three chaos monsters: Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel. Loki's mischief and intellect is not to be underestimated, as he is ultimately although indirectly responsible for the deaths of Balder and Thor, which were caused by Hodr and Jörmungandr (respectively). Loki appeared as the primary antagonist on Marvel Entertainment's 2011 film Thor ''as a son of Odin and brother of Thor. Loki was portrayed by British actor Tom Hiddleston.(Thor, 2011 film) In Norse Mythology 'Early Beginnings' In the beginning, Loki was merely a personification of fire and the hearth. As the stories went on, they say he was a god and a devil; similar to the balance in life. Sources indicated that Loki was originally a demon, or a Jotunn, since he born by two giants. The Jotunn occupy their own world in Norse mythology's nine worlds and are antagonists of the Aesir. Loki, as a result of sharing blood with Odin, became an Aesir, making him Odin's brother. In contrast with popular movies, Loki is actually Thor's step uncle not his brother. 'Asgard's Wall' It is said that when the brick mason, giant builder of Asgard's walls, demanded an unreasonably high price for his work (he requested the sun, the moon, and Freya as his wife), it was Loki's idea to give him six months to build the wall. Thinking that surely the man would fail, and that Loki's plan was infallible, the gods all agreed; all except Freya, who was part of the bargain. When the brick mason and his stallion, Svadilfari, had made much progress on the wall before his time expired, the gods all turned to Loki, threatening him with death if he didn't find a way to make sure the wall wasn't finished within the sixth month. Fearing for his life, Loki took the form of a young mare and enticed Svadilfari away from his master, causing the mason to lose the bet. The union of Loki and Svadilfari brought Odin his eight-legged steed Sleipnir. 'The Three Chaos Monsters' Some time after the wall was built, Loki, discontent with his faithful wife Sigyn, went to Jötunheimr where he wooed the giantess Angrboda. In the time they spent together, Angrboda gave birth to three children as terrible as their father: the first, the wolf Fenrir, whose mouth reached from the heavens to the earth; the second, Jörmungandr, the serpent that encircled the earth; and the third was the goddess Hel, who was given dominion over Nilfheim. In the tale of "The Binding of Fenris", we find that the eldest son of Loki and Angrboda was the wolf which ate Tyr's hand. 'The Dwarfs' It was Loki who tricked the two Dwarf sons of Ivaldi and the Dwarfs Brokk and Eitri to work against one another to create the gods well-known weapons and mounts. He betted his head that Eitri and Brokk could not make gifts superior to Skidbladnir and Gungnir. Eitri made the ring, Draupnir, the hammer Mjollnir and the boar, Gullinbursti. These objects were judged to be superior and Loki lost. However, when it came time for his head to be cut off, he protested against it, as any action could damage his neck, which was not part of the deal. Instead, Brokk had Loki's lips sewn together for a while. 'The Theft of Idunn's Apples' Loki was also responsible for the theft and return of Idunn and her apples. He also appears beside Thor during many of his outings to Jötunheimr. He even shared Thor's shame when Thor dressed as Freya to retrieve his hammer Mjölnir (Loki dressed as a nurse). 'The Death of Balder' It was Loki who talked Hodr into throwing the mistletoe branch at his twin brother Balder, and therefore he is the true murderer of the god of light. After Balder's death, Njord , god of the sea, invited all of the gods to his home so as they may forget their woes. It is here that Loki commits his final offense before his binding. Here he insults Bragi, calling him a coward and a poor man. He then goes on to insult Idunn , saying that she was adulterous. In fact, he charged most goddesses as being unfaithful to their mates. Including Odin's own wife, Frigg, he charges Freya and Freyr with having an affair. His last jibe of the evening before being chased away by Thor was to Sif, in which he confessed to have shared a bed with her. 'The Binding of Loki' After Loki had been chased away by Thor for insulting all the gods and goddesses, Loki was then sought out and chained to a rock by the entrails of his son Narvi , who had been torn to pieces by his son, Vali, who had been transformed into a ravenous wolf. The faithful Sigyn kept watch over her husband, catching the poison from the serpent that Skadi placed over Loki's head. It was said that, when Sigyn left to empty the bowl, the poison would drip into Loki's eyes. His writhing from the pain caused earthquakes. He was chained until the day of Ragnarök, the end of the gods. In Popular Culture Portrayal File:Loki in Avengers (2).jpg|Tom Hiddleston ''Thor (2011)/Avengers (2012) File:Loki in Almighty Thor.jpg|Richard Grieco Almighty Thor File:Loki in Son of the Mask.jpg|Alan Cumming Son of the Mask Loki-Hercules Legendary Journeys.jpg|Ian Hughes Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Hammer-of-the-Gods-Episode-Still-gabriel-the-trickster-loki-11694177-966-1450.jpg|Richard Speight Jr. Supernatural image.jpg|Shane Cortese The Almighty Johnsons Gallery In comics In film In television Family External Links References Category:Æsir Category:Norse gods Category:Trickster Gods Category:Gods Category:Antagonists Category:Gods of Fire Category:Norse giants Category:Giants Category:Deaths during Ragnarok Category:Norse mythology